Hiking and other outdoor activities in the forest as enabled by
Everyman’s Rights are part of the Finnish way of life and leisure
time. Areas designated for outdoor activities, extensive conservation
areas and large tracts of forest provide excellent opportunities
for outdoor recreation. Movement in forests is only restricted
in military areas and strictly protected nature reserves,
where access requires a permit. Strict nature reserves are principally
closed to the public, although some of them have marked
paths for public access. Restrictions to free access apply to about
0.4% of the area of forestry land in Finland.

About half of all outdoor recreation excursions in forests occur
on privately owned land. Two fifths occur in local municipal
recreation areas, which are important particularly for the residents
of large cities and other built-up areas. One fifth occurs
on State land.

Finns own 485,000 leisure homes in Finland, most of them in
a forest and along a waterway. Leisure homes are popular: in
2009, 64% of the population spent time at a leisure home, and
the average number of visits per year was 38.